I bought my PSP for the RPGs, but after my initial struggle with MGS: Peace Walker's control scheme, I can understand why the second control stick is a godsend for so many players. That back touchpad still sounds wonky, though.
I beat the PSP version of this game yesterday. The game itself was a total blast, and I have no complaints on that score. I'm just slightly curious about the ending.
After killing Melad Margus, the Wisp and Maria wandered the empty wasteland eternally, or something along those lines.
This gave me a serious Bad Ending vibe, and I'm just curious as to whether there are other endings for the Maria route. I was definitely surprised, because I recruited just about all of the Knights. Was I meant to use the Enemy Key Items? I mostly ignored them because the bosses' Overdrive skills were usually pretty easy to deal with. For the record, I found Key Items for everyone but "Jamie" and Aquina. Hell, I lugged that Soul Crucible around for forty-six missions. I just never used any of them.
I'm definitely going to play this game again, but I'm just curious as to whether there's anything left to see in Maria's route. I don't want to know the actual content of any other endings; I just want to know if they exist. Thanks!
I hate to disappoint you, but yes, that's basically the entire game. The game's structure goes something like this:
1. Cutscenes. 2. Battle. 3. Flashback cutscenes.
That being said, I enjoyed the narrative, and the battles were incredibly hectic and fun. I definitely suggest that you keep going; once you get deep enough, you won't be able to stop.
It strikes me as odd that I know, and care, more about Skullgirls than about Symphony of the Night.
Still, this is probably good news, considering all the hype I've heard about SotN. If Yamane was involved with the one Castlevania game I've actually tried (Harmony of Dissonance on the GBA, I think?), then I expect a great soundtrack.
I agree completely with just about everything above.
In my first playthrough of P3P, the final boss--I don't feel like dealing with spoiler tags, so I'll just be nonspecific as possible--kicked me around like a hackey sack. It took me a few tries to beat it--I was ever-so-slightly underleveled--but when I came out on the other side, I was satisfied, and felt like I'd really earned the game's ending.
Of course, on my female run of the game, I ran around killing things in Monad for an hour or two, came out at level 90 with Messiah under my belt, and beat the final boss to a bloody pulp while headbanging to The Battle for Everyone's Souls. It was still an enjoyable experience, because I could remember how tough the thing was on my first runaround.
In contrast, take Final Fantasy VII. You spend the entire game hearing about the supposed ultimate badass SOLDIER, Sephiroth, and when you finally reach the final battle, everything seems to be in order. Shirtless Sephiroth descends from the heavens as a choir of fangirls belts out the opening bits of One Winged Angel. Impressive, right? Then you spam basic attacks and occasionally heal. He dies. Congratulations! So, all the hype and atmosphere in the world can't save an easy boss.
As a more positive example, take Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. You spend half the game hearing about how totally awesome the titular mech is, and when you finally confront the thing, everything you've heard is confirmed. It takes every trick you've learned and every awesome power-up you've unlocked over the course of the game to kill the thing. As for atmosphere, I won't spoil, but there are elements to the story that come to a dramatic head by the end of the battle. It's a great experience.
I won't go out and say that a final boss can make or break a game--I've played excellent games that featured less than stellar final encounters--but a great one certainly helps. So, good blog post. Also: crap, I posted a damn novel in response. Sorry~
Your comments on the Game Boy definitely take me back. That thing may have been a big ugly brick, but I still remember playing the thing a wee bit too much as a kid. Good times.
Well, not really, they were pretty shoddy times, but nostalgia makes everything shine brighter.
Anyway, I'm also quite interested in the PSP2 (sorry, but the words "Next Generation" bring to mind Patrick Stewart and the Borg), but, as with the 3DS, I'll delay picking one up until the next holiday season, if I get one this year at all.
I was initially rubbed the wrong way by your statement regarding the PSP--in the last several months, I've used mine more than I did my DS throughout all of last year--but I've reconsidered things. Looking at my modest stack of PSP games, I'm forced to acknowledge that most of them are ports or remakes of older games--some of which were born on the GBA and DS. Oh well.
I blazed through ME2 after buying it during Steam's holiday sale. I sold the Geth team member when given the chance, delayed saving the Normandy crew to finish one last Loyalty mission, then hopped through the Omega 4 Relay. In the end, half my crew died. My entire team survived, though.
I have started a new file that carries over my ME1 character, but I can't really call it a definitive run. I have yet to buy the Kasumi, Overlord, or LotSB packs. I'll probably do that around the time I buy ME3. As for difficulty, I gave Insanity a try, but quickly grew annoyed at the fact that I might as well not have had any shields. For now, I've settled on Veteran.
I enjoyed the ending. After the fourteen-part final boss fight ("Its true arcana is Death!" "FINALLY!"), it served as a really great reward for getting through all 80~90 hours of the game. That being said, the very last line or two were hilariously sad. "I will always protect you!Wait, why aren't you breathing?"
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